Rising Star Promotions has provided the following answers to some of our more frequently asked questions. If your question is not answered here, please contact us and we will quickly respond!

Q: Does Rising Star hold traditional classes like some other schools?

Since 2006, Rising Star Promotions had been providing at-home study supplements that were mailed to you over 20 weeks. Starting with the 2017 Lieutenant Exam, we will now be going live and teaching our successful methods to our students in person, in addition to those who opt to continue with home-study! Remember though, it is your responsibility to score well on the exam and put the hard work in that is required to achieve those results. Our material and methods are specifically suited to those who possess the dedication and ability, or simply the desire, to study hard for their promotion. Whether it is in a classroom, or at home away from the traditional classroom environment, we have you covered. Rising Star keeps the cost of the course reasonable without sacrificing the quality of the material.

Q: What is Rising Stars Philosophy?

Our philosophy is that to do well on promotional exams, you have to do the bulk of the work. No school out there is going to wave a magic wand over you and give you a promotion on test day. Instead, it comes from a strong desire, sincere commitment, relentless dedication, and old-fashioned hard work on your part. Our material is not designed to replace the Patrol Guide or to somehow give you a shortcut or excuse from having to read it. Rising Star will however, point out and breakdown important and troublesome items and procedures along the way in our weekly classes, but you must do the reading for yourself. We will also provide you with the best, up-to-date information and most comprehensive exam-like questions available that are carefully constructed and designed to teach the material. Our instructors will guide you through the process every step of the way and ensure that you doing all you can to achieve your promotion..

Q: I like to listen to study-CDs during my commute to and from work – Do you offer Audio CDs?

No. We do not offer audio CDs with our course for several reasons. First, in our efforts to keep costs down and make our course more affordable to our students, we choose not to produce audio CDs. Second, we pride ourselves on not going to print with our weekly material until just days before we mail it out. In this way, you the student get the most updated material. To accomplish that with audio CD production would be virtually impossible. Third, and perhaps most important to you the student, is that the use of audio CDs requires strict adherence to “active listening” (i.e. concentrating on every word). Most studiers, who utilize audio CDs, listen to its content in the background while performing other tasks (such as driving). Rising Star believes that this practice is counterproductive, especially when listening to practice questions and answers; if you're not actively listening, you are subconsciously prone to hear the "wrong" answer choices, pick-up on it, and store that information in your mind as “correct”.

Q: Some of the other schools “analyze” the frequency of test questionappearance from prior examinations, and then offer students suggestions and advice on which procedures they should spend more time on during their study. Why doesn’t Rising Star do that?

Be very clear, the picking and choosing of what procedures and material to study, and which ones you “don’t have to waste your time on looking at”, is a certain “promotional suicide” – avoid this! As they say in the financial markets, past performance is no indication of future returns. Everything is fair game for the test writers. You may have a test that is straight down the middle, or you may get one that is full of curve balls. After the amount of time and effort you invest into this commitment, do you really want to gamble on statistics? We suggest that you read it all because the last thing you need on test day, is to stand on line waiting to get in and then start wondering if maybe you should have read more of the material you are about to be tested on. Rising Star suggests that you build your confidence and give yourself a fighting chance on test day by knowing that you covered everything. From our pinpoint outlines to our wealth of legendary questions, Rising Star’s material covers it all!

Q: How are your questions created and formatted?

The focus of Rising Star Promotion’s material is in our weekly questions. Rising Star believes that you should answer questions along your “study journey” in order to gauge how effective your studying actually is. Face it; on test day what will you be doing for that promotion? Answering questions. Your destiny lies in your ability to accurately answer one hundred (100) multiple-choice questions. If you are not answering questions along the way, you may not know where your weakness or strength lies. We will provide the most comprehensive test-like questions that cover what you need. These questions will condition you for the real test so that there are no hidden surprises. Our questions are thoughtfully designed and intended with learning in mind and you will find that a majority of questions ask you to select the incorrect answer so that while you are reading the questions, you are absorbing good, accurate information as part of your memory and learning. From time to time, you may also find some True-False questions in our material. True-False questions are designed for you to analyze one single statement at a time. After all, when you break down a single multiple-choice question, you are, in reality, dealing with four True-False questions.

Q: I have heard that some of your questions are difficult and can even be nit-picky. Is that true?

Yes. We will warn you up front, some of our questions have been called “nit-picky”.However, we are sticklers for a very good reason – we would rather you get a tough question wrong now than to get it wrong on test day! We do not recommend continually answering questions that are easy – all you are doing is building a false sense of confidence that can be dangerous over time, if unchecked. We recommend mixing it up the same way the test writers do on exam day. Each and every question we develop has a specific learning purpose incorporated. So while you may get frustrated from time to time answering our questions, be patient, do not get discouraged, and keep in mind that you are learning the hard way which will make it that much easier for you come test day. Also remember that, hopefully on the real exam, most questions will be ground balls; however, every test will have those “out of left field” questions. Those are the questions that will separate those who have spent the time studying from those who have not. The ability to get the tough questions correct on test day decides not only who will make the list, but also who will be on the top of it. We have found that those who generally score between 70% - 80% correct with our questions, consistently placeat the top of their lists. Rising Star’s questions will prepare you for anything the test has to throw at you!

Q: I don’t need all the outlines, digests, tips, etc. Can I purchase just yourquestions as a stand-alone item?

In the past, we have at times offered our patrol guide questions as a stand-alone item that could be purchased, but this was based upon many varying factors. However, be aware that when it was available, it was solely our patrol guide questions and did not include our questions from the Administrative Guide, Legal Bureau Bulletins, In-Basket Exercise, NYPD Crime Classification Guide, "Judgment Scenarios", CompStat Math, Grammar, etc. The only way to ensure you receive all that you need is with our full 20-week course.

Q: What if I am a Rising Star student and have a question about your material that I do not understand?

Contact our unlimited e-mail support and we will promptly respond with the clarification you request, most times within 24 hours.

Q: I see that Rising Star Promotions sponsors an Internet based discussion board for promotional exams. Is that only available to Rising Star students?

No. Anyone, regardless of what school if any that you attend, is free to utilize thediscussion board at no cost in an effort to gain and share information about exams, as well as to foster a spirit of camaraderie among fellow members of the service. It is availableHERE

Q: I was not able to participate in the promotional exam on the original test date. I will be taking a make-up exam soon – do you have study materials I can use to prepare?

If you missed your examination on its original test date, and you are eligible to take a make-up examination because you were on military leave, out on a line of duty injury, etc., contact us for study materials applicable to your particular exam. We have all of our study courses archived and preserved with the procedures and orders that were in effect at the time of each test!

Q: There are other schools out there. Why should I use Rising Star Promotions over the others?

While some studiers utilize more than one school for their promotional pursuit, werealize that each school has its own style and unique benefits. Since 2006, Rising Star Promotions has been an excellent source for NYPD promotional exam needs. We are committed to providing you the best instructors, up-to-date material, and the largest quantity and most comprehensive exam-like questions found anywhere! Additionally, we do not abide by the status quo mentality – we strive to continually improve our products for those who are serious about getting promoted. Just ask our former students about our reputation or contact us for a free sample lesson and see for yourself. We hope to have you as student in the near future. Good luck and study hard!

Q: What if I purchase your course and do not like it? Can I get a refund?

We strongly suggest that you view our sample lesson prior to purchase to see if our format works for you. In the event that you purchase our course and desire to be withdrawn, our refund policy is as follows:1. Full refund if requested before receipt of any course materials.2. One-half refund if requested before week # 5 is held/mailed.3. After week # 5 is held/mailed, no refunds will be issued.